South India must unite under Dravidian identity, Kamal Haasan says

Actor Kamal Haasan believes that the collective voice of a south India united under Dravidian identity would be strong enough to dictate terms to the central government

| TNN | Updated: Jan 18, 2018, 17:01 IST

Highlights

Kamal gave a clarion call to the chief ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala to find pride in embracing their Dravidian identities.

The 63-year-old took exception to the extremes in which the Dravidian movement was viewed by sections in the society.

The actor says he will begin his state-wide tour from the house of late President A P J Abdul Kalam

Kamal Haasan

CHENNAI: Actor Kamal Haasan believes that the collective voice of a south India united under Dravidian identity would be strong enough to dictate terms to the central government. The actor, who had already announced that he would begin a state-wide tour from Ramanathapuram district on February 21, has now revealed that late President A P J Abdul Kalam’s residence will be the starting point of his tour.
Kamal made the comments in a weekly column he pens for a Tamil magazine. The veteran actor, who is referred to as Ulaganayagan (world leader) among his fans, had recently announced his intent is to enter politics.

CHENNAI: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, who announced his political entry last month, set tongues wagging on Wednesday after hinting that he is not against a political alliance with actor Kamal Hassan.
The veteran actors shared the stage here at the launch event of animation film "Kizhakku Africa vil Raju" (English: Raju in Eastern Africa), which will bring AIADMK founder MGR back to life on screen. Following the event, Rajini spoke to journalists when he congratulated Kamal Haasan for his political entry.
When asked if an alliance with Kamal was possible, Rajinikanth said, "Only time will tell."
Kamal on Tuesday night announced that he would start touring Tamil Nadu, beginning with his hometown of Ramanathapuram, on February 21. Kamal had also said that he would reveal the name of his party on the same day.
The superstar's statement on allying with Kamal has attracted criticism from senior politicians, who felt he should think before making political statements.
"(Their) fans are divided. Kamal fans and Rajini fans are against each other. It will be difficult for them to work with each other (if an alliance happens)," senior Congress leader Peter Alphonse told Times Now.

The actor wrote that Tamil Nadu was among the top states contributing significantly to the nation’s tax revenue. “Some say that (the Centre) is collecting taxes here (Tamil Nadu) and using it to develop north Indian states. My opinion is that is how it works in a joint family,” the actor wrote.

“The big brother, who is the breadwinner, will look after the unemployed younger brothers in a (joint) family. But the younger ones should not take the elder sibling for a fool and leave him hungry,” he added.

It is in this regard, the actor let out a clarion call to the chief ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala to find pride in embracing their Dravidian identities.

“Chandrababu Naidu (chief minister of Andhra Pradesh), Chandrashekar Rao (CM of Telangana), Siddaramaiah (CM of Karnataka) and Pinarayi Vijayan (CM of Kerala) are all Dravidians. If the Dravidian identity is imbibed all over south India, the discrimination (from the Centre) which we complain about now will vanish. Together, our voices will become a loud chorus that will allow us to talk to Delhi,” he wrote.

To illustrate his opinion, Kamal cited the example of Lord Shiva. “There is no shame in being known as the Shiva of south India. It just shows that He is omnipresent in all the (southern) states. Dravidianism is like (Shiva),” he wrote, before adding a disclaimer: “I am not advocating the dissolution of Tamil or other languages to create a combined, common tongue. Ethnicity, self-respect and love for your language should not change. This applies to all of India. (What I advocate) is what Nehru observed - unity in diversity.”

The 63-year-old took exception to the extremes in which the Dravidian movement was viewed by sections in the society.

“Some people speak about Dravidian movement as though it were a cuss word. Some others do not speak of anything else other than Dravidianism. Both views should be criticised. Dravidian identity need not be exclusive to Tamils. We can happily share it with people who speak other languages too,” Kamal wrote.

Asserting that there was historical, anthropological and archaeological evidence to support Dravidianism being a pan India quality, Kamal said there was neither a need to destroy nor any reason to celebrate its virtue. “It (Dravidianism) is our identity,” he added.

Explaining the reason behind his choice of starting his state-wide tour from the house of Abdul Kalam, Kamal wrote, “Kalam had many dreams. I too am similar to him. I have many dreams. Kalam dreamt of a prosperous, happy Tamil Nadu. I dream of the same. My journey is towards that dream and not to remain critical (of things) full time.”

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